Rinsing ropes?

[johnniethek]

Hi there,

As I pulled the Red Ranger out of the water at Evergreen Park in Bremerton, a local fellow helped me with some of the chores involved in tieing it down on the trailer.

Just before I left, he reminded me to rinse the ropes off with fresh water when I got home.

I've never done that before, figuring the ropes will last until they need to be replaced. 🙂

But I'm wondering if that's something I should get in the habit of doing. Is that something the assembled masses of Tugnutians would recommend? Any thoughts along those lines, er, ropes, would be appreciated.

Cheers,

John

 

[sparky]

Never in ten years of boating, but the ropes always stayed on the boat as the boat stayed in the water. I guess if I were to take the boat home for storage it would make sense to rinse and DRY the lines prior to storing them to reduce mildew and odor.

 

[captd]

Tip: Lines and anchor rode get stiff and dirty causing wear. Salt is abrasive. 1. Soak in a good detergent, rinse . 2. use fresh water with fabric sofener. We use downy. Makes them very soft and plyable. I try to do it once a year.
Try it you will like it. 😎

captd

 

[Bruce Moore]

US Power Squadron class recommended washing lines once a year. Some soak. Some actually launder. But, CaptD is right. The salt accumulates and becomes abrasives. At least soak them in fresh water.

 

[captd]

Bruce,
It is amazing how nice the fabric sofener works on on lines. They do get stiff and grundgy to the feel. It is an old live aboard trick.
Darrel 🙂

 

[bbrh842]

Salt water never dries, because of the salt in it. Hence rinsing the ropes.

 

[rustednail]

I have never rinsed my ropes intentionally, but they do get rinsed when I wash the boat if I forget to stow them before I start. but...

With the possiblitiy of spreading invasive species, such as zebra mussels, it could be a good idea to rinse and dry ropes before launching into another lake.

 

[captd]

course I am talking about lines that are a little older than those used with these new tugs. My extra anchor line was used on my last three boats. It is a double braid and was getting stiff where it would not flake out well. Older three strand really needs cleaning and softening as they get older. Reversing your anchor line is an other good practice.

captd